


trust me with your life, i'll guard it with mine

by orphan_account



Category: Avatar: The Last Airbender
Genre: Assassination Attempt(s), F/M, Fluff and Angst, Friends to Lovers, Getting Together, Hurt/Comfort, Injury, Love Confessions, Minor Violence
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-07-23
Updated: 2020-07-23
Packaged: 2021-03-05 01:08:14
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,400
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/25455943
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/orphan_account/pseuds/orphan_account
Summary: Suki smiled and tried to sit up, but the movement made her wince in pain. She skimmed her fingertips over the bandage as if she had forgotten it was there. “How bad is it?”“We weren’t sure at first,” Zuko answered honestly. “But Katara says it’s healing well so there won’t be any permanent damage. It’s still going to leave a scar though. There wasn’t anything she could do about that part.”At that, Suki laughed. “Hey, we’ll match! Cool scars for both of us.”Suki is injured protecting Zuko from an assasination attempt, forcing both of them to confront their feelings.
Relationships: Suki/Zuko (Avatar)
Comments: 14
Kudos: 93





	trust me with your life, i'll guard it with mine

**Author's Note:**

> This fic is brought to you by the crazy romantic tension between these two in the comics. After reading The Promise I absolutely had to write something for them.

The Fire Nation was experiencing an unprecedentedly long period of peace. The citizens were, for the most part, happy and their Fire Lord was, for the most part, at ease. Unfortunately, that only meant Zuko was even more unprepared for disaster to strike. It was Suki’s day off, but Zuko had called her into his study to speak to her about some potential trade deals with Kyoshi Island. Besides, it had been a while since they had gotten to be alone together and Zuko had missed his friend. 

Zuko felt so relaxed in her presence that he almost missed the sound of a commotion down the hallway. Almost. He heard the faint sound of shouting, then silence. It could have been nothing, but Zuko knew there was no such thing as being too careful. He gestured for Suki to follow him as he crept toward the hall, arms raised in a firebending stance. 

When he arrived at the doorway, though, the danger was much closer than he expected. The first thing he noticed was the mask the assassin wore, a theatrical mask, similar to the one Zuko used to wear as the Blue Spirit. The second thing he noticed was the glint of the dagger the assassin held. Zuko had just enough time to think _I’m going to die_ before Suki grabbed his arm and pulled him roughly behind herself. Horrified, he watched the dagger sink into her abdomen.

Just then, uniformed Kyoshi Warriors arrived, presumably having also heard the shouts when the palace guards at the end of the hall had been incapacitated. They took down the assassin easily, but Zuko barely noticed. Suki had collapsed back against him, clutching her wound. She started to sink to the floor and Zuko went with her. He thought he must have been screaming, as his throat felt raw, but he couldn’t hear anything. It was hard to focus on anything but the dagger still protruding crudely from Suki’s tunic. 

One of the Kyoshi Warriors - Ty Lee, Zuko realized - knelt down to clutch at Suki’s hand. “Suki, hey, just breathe for me okay? You’re gonna be alright. We already sent for the physician, he should be here soon-” 

“Katara-” Zuko choked out suddenly.

“What?”

It took all of Zuko’s energy to calm down enough that he could speak. “Get Katara. She’s a healer, she- She should be able to-” 

Zuko was doing a very poor job of staying calm, but Ty Lee seemed to understand. “She should still be in the main hall with Aang right? I’ll get her.” Ty Lee gave Suki one more meaningful look then took off down the hall. 

The next few hours were a blur. One moment Zuko was cradling an injured Suki in his lap and the next he was sitting in a stiff wooden chair by her bedside. Everything felt blurry and out of focus while he tried to process what had just happened. 

Katara was kneeling down next to him, having just finished a healing session with Suki. Although Katara had taken control of Suki’s treatment, the palace physician had also given Suki some medicine to help with the pain. Suki had fallen asleep shortly after. “She’s going to be fine,” Katara explained. “We got to her in plenty of time. It might be a while until she can get back to work but-” Katara smiled tiredly. “She’s going to be okay.”

At that, all the tension seemed to drain from Zuko’s body, along with his self-control. After the initial shock of the assassination attempt, Zuko had made sure to appear calm and composed. After all, he was the Fire Lord. He had plenty of experience with keeping his emotions in check. But now, with Suki laying on the bed in front of him and Katara kneeling at his side, Zuko lost it.

Katara held his hand as he cried, offering words of comfort whenever possible. Every once in a while, a tear would slip from her own eyes, but she was quick to wipe them away. Eventually, Zuko regained enough composure to speak. “Thank you, Katara. I don’t know how to thank you enough for saving Suki’s life.”

Katara’s expression was fierce. “You don’t need to thank me. She’s my friend just like she is yours. I’d do anything for her.”

Friends. Right. Zuko was Suki’s friend. So why did this feel so different than all of his other friendships? He suspected he might already know the answer to that question, but now was not the time to pursue that train of thought. By now, the sun had long set and it was time that everyone in the palace, himself included, got some rest. 

“You should sleep, Katara. It’s late and you’ve been working hard.” 

Katara sighed. “That’s probably a good idea. Would you like me to walk you back to your room?” 

Zuko briefly considered returning to his chambers, but after his run-in with the assassin, he didn’t feel quite comfortable in that part of the palace. Besides, the thought of leaving Suki alone for the night filled him with enough anxiety that there was no way he could consider it. “I’m alright here, thank you.”

Katara looked concerned, but she got up to leave regardless. As she stood, she placed a hand on Zuko’s shoulder. “Let me know if you need anything, alright? And don’t worry too much. She’ll be alright.” 

With that assurance on his mind, Zuko leaned back in his chair and settled into a fitful sleep. 

The next morning, like always, Zuko awoke at sunrise. He felt groggy and tense from the night before and his muscles were stiff from sleeping in the hard chair. Still, he was glad that he had chosen to sleep here, if only for the fact that the first thing he saw that morning was Suki. 

It was strange to see her like this. Suki’s face was devoid of her usual Kyoshi makeup and her hair was loose around her face. Laying there with bandages wrapped around her torso, she looked fragile and defenseless. It was a discomfiting sight. Zuko was used to being constantly reminded of Suki’s strength. Seeing her weakened like this made his heart ache with worry.  
Zuko was shaken from these thoughts by the sound of one of the maids entering. “My lord,” She bowed quickly, then continued. “Your meeting with the finance council is set to start in half an hour. Would you like any assistance getting ready?”

“Cancel it,” Zuko ordered, his voice filled with more conviction than he felt. “In fact, clear the entire day.”

The maid did not seem surprised by this request. “Right away my lord.” She bowed again and was gone. 

Zuko hadn’t meant to fall asleep again, but the next thing he knew, he was being awoken by the sound of rustling sheets. 

“Zuko?” Suki asked, her voice rough from sleep.

“It’s me,” he responded eagerly, instantly more awake. 

“How long have you been sitting there?”

“All night,” He answered sheepishly. “And all morning as well.” 

She looked at him curiously. “Shouldn’t you be in a meeting right now?”

Zuko flushed. “I uh… cancelled my meetings. Someone should stay here with you.”

“And that’s a job for the Fire Lord, huh?” Suki smiled and tried to sit up, but the movement made her wince in pain. She skimmed her fingertips over the bandage as if she had forgotten it was there. “How bad is it?”

“We weren’t sure at first,” Zuko answered honestly. “But Katara says it’s healing well so there won’t be any permanent damage. It’s still going to leave a scar though. There wasn’t anything she could do about that part.” 

At that, Suki laughed. “Hey, we’ll match! Cool scars for both of us.” 

When Zuko didn’t respond, Suki glanced back up at him, her eyebrows drawing together in concern. “Zuko, what’s wrong?”

Although he tried to conceal it, Zuko’s voice still came out tinged with fear. “I thought I was going to lose you.”

Suki’s eyes remained clouded with worry, but she forced her expression into what otherwise might seem to be a comforting smile. “After everything I’ve been through? No way. That assassin wishes he could take me down that easy.”

“Please don’t joke about this I-” Zuko had to pause for a moment as tears started to slip down his cheeks. “I don’t know what I’d do without you Suki.”

As soon as Zuko started to lose his composure, Suki grabbed his hand and squeezed it comfortingly. “Hey, hey, it’s okay, I’m right here. I’m right here Zuko.” Using her other hand, Suki lifted the edge of her blanket. “Come sit with me?”

Zuko glanced uneasily at Suki’s bandages, wondering how much her injury had actually healed. “Is that alright? I don’t want to hurt you.”

Suki kept the blanket lifted. “It’ll be fine as long as you don’t jostle me too much. And I won’t tell Katara if you don’t.” 

Despite the tears rolling down his face, Zuko had to laugh at the thought of Katara scolding him for disturbing her patient. “Okay, I’m coming up.”

It took some maneuvering for Zuko to get settled considering his cumbersome Fire Lord robes and his overabundance of concern for Suki’s injury. Eventually though, he ended up curled into Suki’s side with his head resting on her shoulder. She was running her fingers through his hair, which made him feel at once comforted and pathetic. He should be consoling her, not the other way around. After all, he had come away unharmed while she had almost died. He had no right to be seeking comfort from her after everything she had sacrificed. His guilt slowly ate away at him until he finally had to ask: “Why did you do it?”

Although he hadn’t provided any context, Suki seemed to infer his meaning. “You’re the Fire Lord. It’s my job to protect you.”

He should have expected that answer, and yet, upon hearing it, his heart sank. What other response had he been hoping for? Before he had time to consider this quandary, Suki began speaking again. “But if I’m being honest Zuko,” Suki’s voice was quieter this time, as if she were telling a secret. “I didn’t even think about it. I saw that assassin coming at you with that dagger and I just knew that I couldn’t let him touch you. You said that you wouldn’t know what to do without me. I feel the same way about you. If you had died, I don’t know how I would have survived.”

Zuko’s breath caught. He had no idea what to say in response to such an emotional confession, so he stayed silent, turning his face even further into Suki’s shoulder in what he hoped read as a comforting gesture. He seemed to have succeeded, as she lowered her head to rest atop his in response. “So,” Suki sighed. “Are we going to talk about this?”

Zuko looked up at her in confusion. “Talk about what?”

Suki just shook her head softly. “About us. About me taking a dagger for you. About you being at my bedside ever since. About everything we’ve done for each other before that.” She sighed again. “What are we doing, Zuko?”

Zuko hadn’t expected this conversation. Or at least he hadn’t expected this conversation so soon. He knew that his relationship with Suki had shifted at some point over the past few years. They had gone from acquaintances to friends to… whatever it was that they were now. Zuko cared about Suki deeply, but he had no idea what he was supposed to do with those feelings. “I don’t know,” he answered honestly. 

Suki seemed unbothered by this response. “The way I see it,” she announced, “we can keep on doing what we’ve been doing. You’ll be the Fire Lord and I’ll be the leader of the Kyoshi Warriors. You’ll trust me with your life and I’ll guard you with mine. You’ll be my best friend and I won’t take that for granted for a second.” 

Zuko smiled, pleased to hear Suki refer to him as her best friend. She brushed her hand across his hair again fondly.

“I love what we have, Zuko. Nothing has to change. But, if you want,” Suki brought her other hand up to rest on his jaw, her thumb brushing just below his scar. “We could do this as well.” And then, in one fluid motion, she kissed him. 

Zuko was shocked by the intensity of the emotions that this kiss elicited. Suddenly, Zuko understood everything. He understood why his mood always improved when Suki was around. He understood why he found himself seeking her out even when she wasn’t on duty as a guard. He understood why his heart had shattered when he had held her, bleeding, on the floor of his study. 

Suki kissed softly, giving Zuko the chance to pull away. That was the last thing Zuko wanted to do. Instead, he deepened the kiss and allowed Suki to guide him into a better position. Zuko situated himself so that he was hovering just above Suki allowing her to take control of the kiss without having to disturb her injury. She took full advantage of this new position, pulling him in closer and sliding her hands down his shoulders to grip his upper arms. For a while, they remained like that, kissing deep and slow. Instead of feeling the frantic worry that had gripped his heart all week, Zuko felt calm. He had been so afraid that Suki was slipping away from him, but here she was, closer than ever. This kiss was a first, but not a last. 

Eventually, Zuko pulled away, content to lean his forehead against Suki’s and simply breathe. “So,” Suki whispered into the meager space between them. “What do you think?”

Zuko smiled. “I think,” he whispered back, “that I love you.”

Now it was Suki’s turn to be surprised. She pulled back so that she could look at all of his face at once. She stared at him in amazement for a moment before her expression settled into something softer. “You really mean that, don’t you?”

Zuko simply nodded, feeling more sure of himself than he had been in ages.

“Well, that’s good,” Suki said, a slow smile spreading across her features, “because I think I love you too.”

**Author's Note:**

> This is my first fic so please let me know what you think! Any comments or kudos would be appreciated. 
> 
> If you ever want to talk to me, just find me on tumblr at tiredgaybitch. I'd be happy to chat!


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